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Life With

Hey guys! Today I want you to meet my sweet friend, Anna Hodges. Anna and I have been friends for years and years and I adore her and her precious family. I know that you will, too!

Welcome, Anna!

Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a wife and mom of two boys. We live on a small farm in the country. One of my life verses is 1 Thessalonians 4:11 which says, “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your hands.” I try to live that verse out as best I can.

Share your testimony.
I became a Christian when I was 12 years old. Like most believers, there have been ups and downs—times when I walked closely with the Lord and times when I didn’t. If I had to boil my testimony down to a few short sentences, I would simply share that it’s never too late for God to do a work in anyone’s life. No matter how far you’ve strayed or how badly you’ve messed up, God still longs for a relationship with you. The more you run from Him or try to push Him away, the tighter He holds on to you. As my dear friend Rev. Michael Mason says, “Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to see that He IS the rock at the bottom.” Can I get an “amen”!?!? I’ve been there, and so have many others…there is HOPE, there is JOY, there is PEACE available to anyone who wants to give it all over to the Lord and let Him take control.

You’ve recently become a stay-at-home mom. Is this something you’ve always dreamed of doing? What events/circumstances led to you making this decision?
About 6 years ago, my husband and I started homesteading—partly as a hobby and partly because we wanted to know more about where our food was coming from. As our homestead grew and turned into an actual business, it became more than we could handle well with both of us working full-time. I loved the idea of exiting the “rat-race” and ridding myself of all the stress that comes with it, so last winter, we decided that I would quit my job as a teacher and tend to the farm. It’s been scary giving up part of our income, but it’s been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.

What practical advice do you have for someone who is considering quitting their job, either to stay home or follow some other dream?
1. Be attuned to the Holy Spirit. Not every good opportunity is a God opportunity. If you’re just following your heart or emotions, it likely won’t work out well in the end.
2. Weigh all the consequences, both good and bad, of making the leap. Consider the consequences for your spouse and children as well.
3. Once a decision is made with Godly discernment, don’t second-guess it. Embrace the new opportunity (even the challenges that may come as a result).

What is something you are passionate about?
I volunteer each week at Refuge of Grace women’s ministry. Refuge of Grace is a jail ministry and residential program for women who have experienced crisis but are ready to be restored and transformed through the love of Jesus Christ. It’s an incredible ministry that is so dear to my heart.

Life is so busy these days–how do you recharge?
Life has really slowed down for me since becoming a stay-at-home mom/farmer. But my husband and I still don’t have a lot of “us only” time. We’ve started being very intentional about making time for that, even if it’s just for an hour or two. We plan lunch dates or drop the boys off at Nana’s for an hour so we can go for a walk. Even if you’re working full-time and running here and there with the kids, you’ve GOT to prioritize time with your mate. If there’s not unity in your marriage, everything else is likely to all apart.

Tell us three things you are loving (books, tv shows, products, etc.).

2. Following TSA on Instagram. It is HILARIOUS to see what crazy things people try to get on airplanes.

3. WordBrain game app. It is incredibly challenging but quite addictive. (I justify playing this game by claiming it’s an Alzheimer’s preventative.)

“Not every good opportunity is a God opportunity.” <–That is some great wisdom!

Thank you, Anna, for sharing your life with us! My favorite part of Anna’s story is that she had a dream–to stay home, work the farm business, and volunteer her time for God’s glory with the Refuge House–and she stepped out in faith. That’s great encouragement for the rest of us!

Hey guys! Today I want you to meet my friend, Allison Wright. Allison is kicking off a new blog series for us here titled “Life With.” It’s an interview-of-sorts, meant to give you inspiration and . I met Allison several years ago when we were in a Sunday School class. She is one of those people that you just instantly like. Later, when I heard her testimony, I was inspired. I know you’ll feel the same! Welcome, Allison!

Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a 36 year-old mother of two beautiful girls, ages 3 and almost 11 (I have a Valentine’s baby!) I work as an Administrative Assistant at the Mental Health Center and have been married to my husband Clint, who must be the most patient man on earth, for 7 1/2 years.

Share your testimony.
My parents had been praying for a baby for 15 years and had been told by doctors that it would never happen. They had all but given up when mom asked God, if he thought she’d be a good mom, to please give her a baby…and here I came- their little miracle child. So, there was never any question of whether or not I was loved or wanted. I came from a good home and can remember being in church as far back as I can remember. My parents did everything possible to give me a perfect life. And it pretty much was up until I was about 15. I grew up excelling in sports and academics both. I was in the Gifted & Talented program, All-County in basketball, All-State Honorable Mention as a freshman for softball. I was a cheerleader with good looking older boyfriends and a shiny new sports car.

Life should have been good. But I just felt so empty. I started struggling with severe depression and ended up making two very serious attempts on my life my the time I was 16. After that, things just went downhill. I was no longer popular because the kids didn’t know how to deal with me and what I’d done, I guess. I learned to be tough, to have a smart comeback to whatever hurtful comment came my way and to throw a few punches when necessary. I remember in my Senior yearbook, my favorite teacher wrote that she knew I’d be ok because I had grit. That’s probably the only kind word any teacher had for me because I was the exact opposite of what I’d been raised to be. I was the picture of teenage angst and found new friends that liked to drink and do drugs. I learned that I liked to do them too. I can’t tell you how many times I went to rehab before I even made it out of high school. The downward spiral lasted into my 20’s.

My attempts at college were all a bust. There was too much partying to do to waste time studying, even though I had the brains. My early 20’s were mostly spend in clubs and bars and while some times were really fun, weekends in Miami and raves in Nashville, I just never could stop when the party was over. I wanted to be thin and beautiful more than anything because my self-esteem was measured in men and what they thought of me, and I found that dope kept me from eating and I could be skinny and blonde and working as a bartender, I thought those were the two most important things in life. The dope did what it does though and I found myself isolated and alone from anyone who really cared about me.

I wound up pregnant about the time I lost my job, my car broke down and I couldn’t pay my rent anymore. The baby’s father, also an addict, just said he wasn’t ready and advised me not to have the baby if I wasn’t prepared to do it alone. Broke, pregnant, and at what should have been rock bottom, I crawled home to mom and dad. They helped me raise the baby after she came and I went back to work. This time, I tried to find a job outside the bars (bartending had been so fun but I was an addict who’d already acquired one DUI so I was at least smart enough to know I needed to try something different).

I’d like to say this is where things turned around for me, with the birth of my daughter, but it wasn’t. Soon, I’d met a not-so-good guy I fell head over heels for and it was back to the same old stuff. My parents were already practically raising my daughter before I ever lost custody of her because who knows when I might sober up enough to come home. The relationship was awful but I couldn’t stand to be alone so I hung on as best I could. Everything came to a head one night when I did too many drugs, drank too many drinks and wound up with my second DUI. This time, I’d nearly ran over an officer, crashed into a trailer and a police car, and had no memory of it. No one came to bail me out because they all knew I had to get help.

I stayed in jail for two months waiting to get into a long-term rehab facility. There was a group of older ladies from a local church who came every week and witnessed to those of us in the jail. I remember one week one of the ladies hugged me and whispered “Honey, you don’t belong here, do you? You know God loves you and it’s not too late.” That sweet lady, whose name I may never know, changed my life. I gave my life to God right there in the Lawrence Co Jail and spent the rest of my time praying with some of the other ladies in my part of the jail. I formed a prayer group with two prostitutes and a sweet lady who was addicted to crack cocaine. I’d have never seen that coming! From there, things weren’t always perfect, and there were still some really hard things to deal with.

While in rehab, my baby’s father decided to try for custody. The judge decided to give it to my parents instead who had been raising her anyway. I spent 4 more months after the two in jail in rehab. I went to court and lost my license for 3 years. My dad drove me most anywhere I had to go until I was almost 30. That is humbling for sure. But still, I had faith and sobriety for the first time ever and despite all these things going on, I knew I’d be ok at last. I got out of rehab and got an apartment within walking distance of the job I miraculously found within days of graduating rehab.

I, along with my child’s father, was court ordered to go to Anger Management classes and one day he asked me if I’d like him to give me a ride home after the classes. I said sure and he did. My parents had kept my daughter active in church this whole time and I started going with them. Her dad then started attending some things too mainly just to see our daughter but then one day on the way home from one of those Anger Management classes he asked if it was too late for us to try again and we did. He kept coming to church with us and was eventually saved and baptized and if there ever was stark proof of God’s ability to change a heart, it’s found in my husband.

He is now the most amazing father, husband and Sunday School teacher I could imagine. We were married in 2009 and our daughter was our beautiful flower girl. We’ve still had our share of storm since then. My dad’s passing in 2012 was particularly hard on me and we found out just a few months later (while I was pregnant with our second child) that our oldest daughter is on the Autism spectrum. That “grit” Mrs. Ingleright pointed out that I’d learned from my high school difficulties has come in handy as finding the resources my daughter needs definitely takes some determination. I’d like to say God took away all signs of my depression but it’s not true. I still struggle at times and I’ve seen that Satan uses my depression and anxiety as a tool to slow me down when I’m trying hardest to do God’s will. At this point in life, however, I’ve learned that “this too shall pass” and I dig in and keep going with my God leading the way.

What is something you are passionate about?
Autism Awareness & Treatment and generally just wanting to remind people that different isn’t less – My oldest daughter, Presley, the one who was diagnosed as being on the spectrum, is brilliant and funny and amazing in 11 million different ways.

Life is so busy these days–how do you recharge?
I recently attended a Disciple Now weekend with our church’s youth group, aptly named #Refresh. Seeing all those kids be moved by the Spirit and finding a word from God myself while out in the woods with nothing else to worry about (school, work, etc.) was an amazing recharge.

In day to day life, however, I recharge through working out -I’m currently into and loving Crossfit- and just cutting loose to music. My girls and I have some crazy-silly Gray’s Anatomy-style Dance-It-Out sessions in the car, in our kitchen, wherever. You can’t take yourself or life too seriously. Of course, there’s no better medicine than a good laugh.

Tell us three things you are loving (books, tv shows, products, etc.).
Lee Daniels’ movie The Butler– I just watched and it was SOOOO good!
TV Show: This Is Us (I can’t even type the name without crying!)
Makeup product: Tart’s Tartiest Pro Amazonian Clay Eyeshadow Palette

Thank you, Allison, for sharing your testimony with us and what a testimony it is! Isn’t that just an amazing example of God’s redemption?